Interview: Alex Brownsell of Bleach London

Alex Brownsell is a renowned fashion and celebrity hairstylist, colour expert, and founder of Bleach London, the innovative home hair colouring brand.

Alex began her career at just 12 years old in her mother’s Midlands salon, quickly building a reputation for her technical talent and fearless approach to hair colour. By 22, she had set up her first makeshift salon, which soon evolved into the first Bleach London location — a cult destination for London’s coolest residents.

Driven by a passion to democratise hair colour, Alex launched Bleach London’s first product range with Boots in 2013, bringing salon-quality formulations to the high street. Since then, she has led the brand’s expansion across the UK, the US, and South Africa, with Bleach London now stocked in major retailers including Boots, Walmart, and CVS.

Under Alex’s leadership, Bleach London has become synonymous with vegan, cruelty-free, high-performance formulas and a commitment to innovation, with launches like the Low and Slow Clay Bleach and No Bleach Colours.

Alongside her work at Bleach London, Alex remains an in-demand session stylist, contributing to campaigns for Gucci, Celine, Burberry, and Versace, and styling celebrity clients such as Alexa Chung, FKA Twigs, and Georgia May Jagger. Throughout her career, Alex has stayed true to her values of creativity, quality, and disrupting industry norms: principles that continue to shape Bleach London today.

2025 marks Bleach London’s 15th anniversary and the 10th anniversary of its product range. To celebrate, the brand has relaunched its iconic semi-permanent range with new packaging and a campaign celebrating colour as a cornerstone of creativity. Bleach London has also launched the Super Cool Colour Fund to provide working capital for young creatives without access to investment.

We recently spoke with Alex to discuss the inspiration behind Bleach London, her future plans for the brand, and the beauty products she swears by.

What inspired you to create Bleach London? 

The ethos of Bleach London already existed in the culture between me and my friends. It was shaped by the role that hair played in our lives during a pivotal time in our coming of age. We were at our most experimental — messing about with everything from music to clothes, makeup, films, piercings, and even where we’d go and why.

I happened to know about hair from working at my mum’s salon in the Midlands since I was a kid. I just tried out a load of the styles the older ladies there liked on my friends, albeit in more extreme ways and with weirder colours. I never expected to see these very suburban, small-town hair practices influence the London subculture the way they did, let alone spur on a global business.

What product is the best introduction to the brand? 

I think our semi-permanent Super Cool Colours are what really put us on the map. They’re like our rolling permanent collection — we have our classics, from Awkward Peach to The Big Pink, and then there are always new shades washing in and out of fashion and circulation. We’re currently celebrating their tenth birthday with new artwork and boxes showing exactly how they come out on hair (bleached or unbleached).

What has been the biggest challenge or surprise in launching Bleach London?

Still being here over a decade later. I never set out to be a businesswoman — I just knew how to do hair and liked having fun with my friends. Even when we started making products, I just assumed it would be a fad that might last for a summer. But the bigger the business got, the quicker we had to grow up. We’ve had to learn everything on the go and exist on the precipice of success and failure for so long.

I think if I’d known how difficult it might be, I might have done something else. Which isn’t to put anyone off launching an idea; something on this scale just isn’t really how my brain operates. But now we are where we are, I couldn’t be more proud.

What has been the biggest highlight? 

There have been so many insane moments, from seeing our products in the shops in the town I grew up in, to using them to colour and style hair at a Vetements Fashion Week show, to Paris Hilton and Charli XCX turning up to the opening of our LA salon. Every year, I pinch myself at something I would never have believed was possible as a teenager. Which isn’t to say it’s all great — there are just as many lowlights — but every time I meet someone who uses Bleach London (or even knows what it is), I’m elated.

What advice would you give to those wanting to launch their own beauty business?

It’s probably a bit of a cliché, but make something you want and can’t get. Home bleaching was so controversial when we started, with the industry propagating the myth that it was something which couldn’t be done safely at home. But I knew it wasn’t dangerous if you knew what you were doing, so we wanted to make a box bleach with all the information laid out clearly, and a spirit of fun, not fear.

I’d definitely say don’t think about what’s out there already; think about what you want that isn’t. And be prepared to get loads wrong before you get it right. But also just do it, because if you don’t, a massive corporation will only do the same thing slightly worse.

What’s next for Bleach London? 

Our No Bleach Permanents range has been going down amazingly well. We never set out to do permanent colour until we saw what was possible with these new formulations that get such good results on dark hair without any bleach. Without wanting to sound too evangelical, the new Vivid Berry and Cherry Red shades kind of have to be seen to be believed.

I think in terms of what’s next, it’s about making sure we continue to serve those who’ve grown up with our products, as well as exciting the new generation of hair colour lovers who are probably the same age we were when we started. And in a lot of countries, like the Netherlands and South Africa, we’re just getting stocked in major retailers for the first time, so it’s an opportunity to engage with whole new communities.

What does your haircare routine look like? 

My hair is never brushed, and most days looks like a tie-dyed Wookiee in a car wash. I’m like those chefs who go home and only eat McDonald’s, but when I am trying to look nice, I’ll wash it with Reincarnation Bond Building Shampoo, run it through with our Reincarnation Mask to revitalise it, then always use our avocado oil Hair Elixir when styling.

What are three beauty products you cannot live without?

Recently, I’ve been loving Isamaya Beauty’s Metal Lip Balm for a bit of colour, MAY’s Golden Hour Face Oil, and obviously Bleach London’s Reincarnation Mask, the OG protein treatment.

What’s the biggest haircare lesson you’ve learned?

Too many to name. I think the advice I would pass on at this moment in time is: don’t over-protein your hair! Everyone is focused on treatments, and there is such a thing as too much of a good thing. Weekly is the best approach.

What person or brand would you love to collaborate with?

The bar’s already been set quite high with our Heaven by Marc Jacobs collab, our Blue Weekend Super Cool Colour with Wolf Alice for their last album, and our short-lived (but extremely iconic) pop-up bar with Ray-Ban in Dalston. With that in mind, I’d have to say that as we are celebrating 10 years in colour, I would love to do something iconic — like a paint range or maybe an F1 car!

Bleach London is available in the UK at Boots and lookfantastic.com and in the US at Walmart. The brand also has two salons in London and one in Los Angeles.